Shakira Says She Sacrificed Her Music Career for Gerard Piqué’s Pro Soccer Dreams

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Two years after splitting from the father of her children, Gerard Piqué, Shakira has four major hits under her belt, as well as a VMAs Vanguard Award, and is getting ready to release her next album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry). But in a new interview, the Colombian singer—known for iconic tracks including “Hips Don’t Lie” “Beautiful Liar,” and “Waka Waka”—recalls her decision to embark on a yearslong hiatus from music to support Piqué in his professional soccer career and raise their two sons, Milan, 10, and Sasha, 8.

“For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so that he could play football,” she told The Times UK. “There was a lot of sacrifice for love.”

Shakira met the Spanish soccer player on the set of the music video for her song “Waka Waka,” which she wrote for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in which Piqué and team Spain played and won. The pair soon began dating and in 2013 welcomed their first child, Milan. Shakira and Piqué never married, but in September 2022, they shocked the world by announcing their separation following 11 years together. Soon after, Piqué went public with his new girlfriend, Clara Chia Marti (following rumors he began dating her before splitting from Shakira), and Shakira wrote four record-breaking revenge songs, even mentioning her ex’s new flame by name in one of them, “BZRP Music Session #53.”

“Empathy is key in an artist’s work. An athlete is in a constant state of war and has to avoid empathy at all costs,“ Shakira told The Times. “That’s why it’s probably a really bad idea for an artist to hook up with an athlete.”

In early 2023, the singer moved from Barcelona, Spain—where she lived with Piqué—to Miami, with their sons. The relocation, she told Billboard last year, has helped her get back in her zone, musically, and get in touch with other music world professionals and artists.

“Now I can release music at a faster clip, although sometimes I think being a single mom and the rhythm of a pop star aren't compatible,” she told Billboard. “I have to put my kids to bed, go to the recording studio; everything is uphill. When you don’t have a husband who can stay home with the kids, it’s constant juggling because I like to be a present mom and I need to be there every moment with my children: take them to school, have breakfast with them, take them to play dates. And aside from that, I have to make money.”

She added to the outlet that her career was her “third priority” when she lived in Europe with Piqué, as she “dedicated” her life to supporting him and caring for their kids. Now, not only has she involved her boys in her music (the two make a cameo in her ballad “Acróstico,” but she said she is learning from them every day. “They're so loving and caring and they inspire me to be better, to be a better person just for them,” Shakira recently told Entertainment Tonight. “They’re just the most amazing thing in my life. They’re everything to me.”

You Might Also Like

• 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora

• The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine